


picture imperfect

by Kharasma



Category: Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Gen, Photography, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:28:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28553109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kharasma/pseuds/Kharasma
Summary: Lydia works on a personal project. She gets some unexpected company. How it works out exceeds her (admittedly low) expectations.
Relationships: Beetlejuice & Lydia Deetz
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15
Collections: fandomtrees





	picture imperfect

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cookiegirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cookiegirl/gifts).



“Hello, darkness, my old friend...oh,that's just Lydia! What's going on”

Goodbye, peaceful dark room. Ugh, how did Beetlejuice always do that? He’d been hanging around the house long enough for his tricks to no longer surprise her much, but was he still annoying? Yes.

Was he still, bizarrely, their friend? Also yes. You can’t keep a good demon down for long, apparently.

“...Photograhy. What, you've never been inside a dark room before?”

“Oh, loads of ‘em! Rat-infested dungeons, my bedroom, mom’s basement….”

“You're hilarious,” Lydia rolled her eyes fondly, unseen in the darkness. “But this is a darkroom. You know, film development?”

“Not my thing. Tried it, hated it. You have one great idea about a string of murders in a snowpocalypse, and the studio wants to turn it into some schlocky holiday movie.”

“...not that kind of film development, but I get what you mean,” Lydia sighed, the crunching of loading her film reel filling the darkness for a moment. “Most people don’t appreciate art when they see it. It’s all...where’s the puppies and butterflies? The gentle shore, the grand statues...I took some of that nonsense for the teacher, a black and white rainbow for Delia with some corny saying and a sports car for Dad, but these? These are staying right here.”

“Ooh, ooh! I want to see!” Grubby hands reached for the reel canister just as Lydia turned on the lights, but she kept hold of it---barely.

“Not yet! First I’ve gotta develop it---then proof, then make these prints nice. They’re for you guys...you know, since I can't take pictures of you. I can still give you something to look at.”

“Aww, okay. How long’s it gonna be?”

“We’ll see the pictures in about an hour. You can’t rush art.”

“Sure you can, anything’s art! An overflowing landfill, syrup on a wall, Mars needs Moms...”

“Your taste, once again, is terrible.”

“Thanks, I’ll be here all week!”

Even with the incessant chatter from her favorite demon, things were coming along nicely. Yeah, it'd been an awkward time when he'd first found his way back, but incredibly...he'd actually become somewhat less disgusting. The carefree fun of their first few days together hadn't really come back after all they'd been through, but he was clearly trying. He even flicked the upper lever on the enlarger when she struggled to reach it. Not the worst friend someone could ask for, or the worst way to spend a few hours.

After an hour of his joke routine, and lots of canister shaking, they finally had sometime. Together they hung the new prints on the line...and she braced herself for another round of colorful commentary. Not that his opinion mattered much, except for on one---

“...and now I’m disappointed. Didn't you just say this was the kind of boring crap your teacher wanted?”

Beetlejuice was poking at the first photo: a new book opened under a library lamp, the ink on the page with a slight gleam to it. It was on a homey wooden table, set on one of those dizzy spiral tablecloths that reminded her of a casino floor. The black and white really helped it look somewhat more tolerable than it had been in person.

“No---I mean yes, but it’s not for her. This is Adam's. He says he’s got his whole afterlife to read everything remotely of interest, and we’ve cleaned up their attic---but I really think he misses the library atmosphere.”

“He could definitely pull off the hot librarian thing if he tried a little harder---”

“BJ!”

“Okay, okay. Nothing inappropriate for delicate teenage ears. Next picture---sunflowers? Come on, I want to see something original!”

“It’s for Barbara. Most people snap the whole field, or zoom in on one, but….see? This bunch is kinda special. I dressed 'em up a bit.”

“Six is pretty weak for a bouquet. And look at 'em, they’re just…”

He looked closer. They all had faces on their stamens made from plucking the pollen there. One wore a dapper tie, one sported a sign that said ‘Shine bright---but don’t burn your eyes!’. One wore glasses, and curled next to one with a cute little apron.

Then there were the last two, their petals a few shades darker than the rest. A small one, standing as tall as it could---and one with half the petals drooping and curled, a chaotic mess.

“...is that supposed to be us? Huh. What's the story there?”

“A long, long allergy-plagued afternoon with the remnants of the town sunflower festival. But Barbara needs more sunshine in her life. Always seems like she’s trying to brighten ours.”

“Yeah, yeah, at least she’s laid off bugging me about the hair.”

“It’s all part of your admittedly weird and gross charm. Anyway...come on, last one’s for you,” Lydia smiled, nudging him toward the final print. Hopefully he’d like it?

“For me? You shouldn’t have! Oh boy, let’s see.”

“Here it is! Presenting my greatest masterpiece….the beetle drink!” Okay, so she puffed up a little announcing that. She thought it was funny, anyway.

And it truly was a beetle drink. The last photograph was her favorite image: a bottle of cider on a dilapidated shelf surrounded by fallen planks, with a beetle crawling inside the neck of the bottle. The demon leaned in closer, thinking a moment---before his grin threatened to split his face.

“Hey, it’s me! Love it. That crunchy taste breathers have been dying to try. Aww, Lydia, you shouldn't have!”

“But I did. So deal with it. Now let's see if I can get the rest before---” She checked her watch. "Ugh. Dinnertime already. I promised I wouldn't miss it!"

She had to put in an appearance. Okay...maybe she didn't _have_ to. The family had set out on a little cooking adventure of their own the last few weeks, and watching them evolve from burnt toast to slightly more edible spreads had been amusing. Just as she was trying to imagine what yesterday's ingredient list could make, he had another question:

“Hey, mind if I hang out here for a while?” Beetlejucice looked oddly contemplative. He hadn't let go of his beetle drink photo yet. Okay, she'd definitely get him something just as silly next time she went out.

“Uh...sure? Just don’t ruin my film with the light, got it?"

“Total darkness. Just my kind of place. Nope, everything's great! Now go chow down and hurry back.”

And as Lydia waved and ducked out the door, Beetlejuice rubbed his hands together and got to work. He had two hours, tops, so it was time to hustle.

\---

That evening, Lydia returned to the rooftop to watch the stars as she sometimes did. It was kind of her spot now: Adam and Barbara had the attic, where they’d made a big show of hanging up her pictures that evening. As much as she’d reveled in the attention (hey, it was nice to be recognized for something you did well once in a while!), she needed some alone time. Thankfully, everyone understood that by now.

“There you are, Lydia! I was looking everywhere---okay, not really, this was the first place I looked, but you’ve gotta see it!”

...well, almost everyone understood that she needed her alone time. “See what?”

“Less talking, more walking! Come on!”

That was how Lydia found herself hurrying back down to her darkroom, where a new photo hung on the line.

When she looked closer, it was less of a photo and more of a messy collage. Half-developed negatives bordered the sheet: if she squinted, she could recognize a spider web, a necklace lying on a table, a trash can with a boot sticking out of it, and one of Delia's art pieces seen upside down. They looked pretty cool in negative, she had to admit.

In the center of the frame were two messy figures made from chips of peeling wallpaper: a green blob with red and purple hair, and a black blob. They were kinda shaped like blocky snowmen: maybe he was trying abstract art?

And underneath: ‘BJ + Lydia BFF’. It was...cute, Lydia had to admit to herself. In that way that a kid's awkward first drawing that you put on the fridge was cute. And he'd definitely put in some serious effort.

“Hey, you spelled everything right!”

“Come on, everyone can spell that---okay, fine. Asked Adam.”

“And he didn't suspect you were trying something?"

"Actually, no...oh man, does that mean I'm going soft?" The faint look of panic on his face was new!

"Nah, you're good," Lydia laughed, elbowing him sharply. " And...wow. This is probably the nicest thing you ever did for me. Well. Besides saving me from your mom.”

“Hey, don’t get sappy on me. I was saving myself from eternity with her. Two birds one stone, if anything.”

“Yep, I totally believe that.”

The demon looked affronted---but hey, he’d get over it. All in all, everything was looking pretty on the up and up---eyes up, toward the sun. Or toward the cobwebs in the rafters. Wherever you looked around here, there was something pretty special. Lydia was fine with that.


End file.
